Tested by circumstance, barrio’s native son reaches for city’s top post

David Alvarez's Journey

He’s the baby of his family, but David Alvarez has often acted like the patriarch. As a teen he shouldered adult responsibilities — doing his parents’ tax returns, helping them open a checking account, paying bills and translating at doctor’s appointments.

His brother Francisco didn’t always notice this.

That changed in 2007, when 26-year-old David delivered the eulogy at their mother’s funeral.

“I was amazed at the tone and him being able to do that,” said Francisco Alvarez, who is 11 years older than David. “When mom passed away and he spoke for the family, that’s when I (saw) David as, you know, OK, he’s the spokesperson for the family.”

Now Alvarez is running to become San Diego’s first Latino mayor and its youngest mayor in more than a century. Backed by the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, he is the surprise contender in Feb. 11’s special election, facing off against Republican and fellow Councilman Kevin Faulconer.

Is this relative newcomer to City Hall ready to be the next leader of America’s eighth-largest city?

Supporters insist he is. This candidate, they say, is experienced, independent and unafraid to lock horns. His roots in impoverished Barrio Logan, they add, give him a deep understanding of ordinary San Diegans’ problems.

“David really understands the challenges in the community because he’s been a part of us,” said Jesse Constancio, a community activist who has asked Alvarez for help on various issues. “You don’t need to explain them to him.”

Critics portray Alvarez as a callow youth, a gift-wrapped neophyte co-opted by the unions that are funding his campaign precisely because of his age and inexperience. Moreover, opponents maintain, he doesn’t understand the business community’s needs.

San Diego City Councilman David Alvarez, candidate for mayor.
— John Gastaldo

San Diego City Councilman David Alvarez, candidate for mayor.
— John Gastaldo

He is “a nice young man,” said Scott Sherman, a City Council colleague who endorsed Faulconer.

That’s “nice” in a limited way, Sherman stressed: “He doesn’t really have any real-world experience. He’s what, 33? I’m 50. Before this, I ran a business. Balanced budgets, made payroll. And I’m a one-term council member, like David. … I wouldn’t presume to run the eighth-largest city in the country.”

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Interviews with about 30 people revealed a more balanced portrait — a man of determination and faith, someone who presents himself as an accidental politician even though his biography demonstrates a swift rise powered by a focused drive.

He grew up in a poor household with parents who didn’t push him academically, yet he became his family’s first college graduate — magna cum laude. He’s been touched by gang violence and been in a room with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. And so far, in an admittedly short political career, he’s undefeated.

San Diego mayoral candidate David Alvarez is surrounded by supporters while he is interviewed on television at The Bread and Salt art gallery in Logan Heights on Tuesday.
Hayne Palmour IV